FLSA Amended to Require Unpaid Breaks for Nursing Mothers
The recently enacted health care reform act imposed a new federal requirement on all employers by amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Effective immediately, employers must provide nursing mothers with unpaid breaks in order to express breast milk for one year after the birth of her child. The law fails to specify how many breaks are required or for how long they must be, instead providing that breaks must be "reasonable." The new law also requires employers to provide a private area - other than a restroom - for such breaks. Such area must be shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public.
Employers with less than 50 employees may be exempt if these requirements would impose undue hardship by causing significant difficulty or expense, when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer's business.
Note that many states already have enacted laws relating to nursing mothers in the workplace, and thus employers will need to adhere to whichever law is more beneficial to the employee.
